terrifed...i have labrynthitis

[hms1987]

i am so frustrated and freaked out right now. my doctor diagnosed me with an inner ear inflammation. i believe it's also called labrynthitis. or however you spell it. i am not thinking straight. i've been getting dizzy/nausea spells on and off for about a month now. at first i thought they were due to an ovarian cyst i had last month. when i get those, i get very quick dizzy and nausea spells. however, they cyst is gone. i have no pain. i also have a new symptom. my head feels full and i have ringing in my ears. the dizziness is now constant. it's been that way for almost a week. every day i feel worse. my doctor gave me promethezine for the nausea because zofran did nothing. he also gave me nasonex and meclizine. i am terrifed to take the meclizine. things like benadryl and dramamine just give me anxiety and a bit of nausea. will the anti-nausea help with that? i am taking online courses and i'm falling behind. i got sent home from work last night because i couldn't stand up straight. my boss accused me of being drunk. i rarely even drink because of the possibility of getting sick from it. i realize this could take a while to go away, but i've had it for a month. will it start to go away soon? i'm supposed to go to the beach for a week next week, if i don't go, i may lose my mind. i can't eat, sleep, work, breathe, etc. i get extremely hungry, but when i eat i get nauseous. any advice? please help. i can't stop crying.

[ditchy_jon]

My advise is to first eat little and often, this will stop a lot of the nausea, eat bland foods aswell. Secondly when people have Labrynthitis is so easy to go and head for the bed and go to sleep. However you need to start doing some vestibular therapy. This is a way of challenging your vestibular system that is causing the dizziness. Im not an expert on this kind of therapy however it includes things like taking 15 minutes out of your day to slowly move your head side to side to invoke dizziness. What you are teaching your brain and vestibular system is that these movements are completely normal and soon your brain will deal with the movement correctly and stop you feeling dizzy. It does work as I had to do it when I has Labrynthitis however my was not as severe as yours. Also demand that you see and ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist, and if you have to (depending if you live in the UK), pay for private consultant instead of NHS. Trust me it will be worth seeing a specialist who will go through these techniques for you. The anti-nausea will help you will the nausea but definitely take the medication as feeling dizzy is debilitating. If you need any further support, we are only a keyboard type away

[hms1987]

thank you for responding. i'm eating some bread right now. i don't understand how i can be hungry and nauseous at the same time. i'm sure my anxiety is only making it worse. i will try the slowly moving my head suggestion. i am willing to try anything to feel better. i'm so bored. would it help if i got up and did little things around the house instead of sleeping all the time? also, my glands are huge. is that just my body trying to fight this off? in addition to being afraid of v*, i'm really scared of cancer. i want to work, run, and eat pizza. i can't get into an ENT for 6 weeks. i really want to try and take the meclizine. i just can't bring myself to do it. i'm all alone tonight. however, i guess it can't make me feel worse than i do right now? i really appreciate your advice. it helps knowing i'm not alone.

[ditchy_jon]

thank you for responding. i'm eating some bread right now. i don't understand how i can be hungry and nauseous at the same time. i'm sure my anxiety is only making it worse. i will try the slowly moving my head suggestion. i am willing to try anything to feel better. i'm so bored. would it help if i got up and did little things around the house instead of sleeping all the time? also, my glands are huge. is that just my body trying to fight this off? in addition to being afraid of v*, i'm really scared of cancer. i want to work, run, and eat pizza. i can't get into an ENT for 6 weeks. i really want to try and take the meclizine. i just can't bring myself to do it. i'm all alone tonight. however, i guess it can't make me feel worse than i do right now? i really appreciate your advice. it helps knowing i'm not alone.

Swollen glands sounds more likely to be a bacterial infection rather than Viral. Has your Doctor tried you on a course of Anti-Biotics just in case it isn't Viral. I very much doubt it would be cancer, however having Labrynthitis is very scary, the problem you also have is the more anxious you get the worse your dizziness would become. Go back to your doctor and demand some anti-biotics and some anxiety medication, both of which your doctor should have put you on after how long you have had it. It may be worth going private to see an ENT as you may get in a lot quicker (if you live in UK that is), again you need to demand these thing from the doctor as being ill for a long time can give you depression.

[hms1987]

Swollen glands sounds more likely to be a bacterial infection rather than Viral. Has your Doctor tried you on a course of Anti-Biotics just in case it isn't Viral. I very much doubt it would be cancer, however having Labrynthitis is very scary, the problem you also have is the more anxious you get the worse your dizziness would become. Go back to your doctor and demand some anti-biotics and some anxiety medication, both of which your doctor should have put you on after how long you have had it. It may be worth going private to see an ENT as you may get in a lot quicker (if you live in UK that is), again you need to demand these thing from the doctor as being ill for a long time can give you depression.

i live in america. our healthcare sucks. wow, he didn't even SUGGEST that it could be bacterial. i have all ready been there twice this week, but i will go back and ask for antibiotics. he just passed it off as viral because i've had no fevers. he also told me that my glands could swell with a virus. sometimes i think people who are healthy all the time just don't care. unfortunately, i can't see an ENT without a referral. i used to take clonazepam for panic attacks. maybe he'll give me more of that. i can all ready feel myself getting depressed. i'm not one for just laying around. you have been tremendous help. thank you.

[andee]

Hi, I remember when I had this. I was freaking out!!! I was sooo dizzy and felt sooo sick! Couldn't eat well, just was soo anxious and thinking that I CANNOT live like this. But VEEERRRRYYY slowly, it went away....like by inches!!! I had it for a good month before I felt really well again. What helped me was taking meclizine, which really just made me tired. Laying down or half sitting up helped, eating small snacks and drinking a lot of fluids. I have read about the rehab, and I think if this ever happened again, I would definitely look into it. Mine happened after a common cold, so it was viral. Definitely see and ENT if you haven't already...they at least know more about this. Read up on it, don't scare yourself though, some stories terrified me. But learn all you can. Good luck and hang in there, it WILL get better.

[hms1987]

Hi, I remember when I had this. I was freaking out!!! I was sooo dizzy and felt sooo sick! Couldn't eat well, just was soo anxious and thinking that I CANNOT live like this. But VEEERRRRYYY slowly, it went away....like by inches!!! I had it for a good month before I felt really well again. What helped me was taking meclizine, which really just made me tired. Laying down or half sitting up helped, eating small snacks and drinking a lot of fluids. I have read about the rehab, and I think if this ever happened again, I would definitely look into it. Mine happened after a common cold, so it was viral. Definitely see and ENT if you haven't already...they at least know more about this. Read up on it, don't scare yourself though, some stories terrified me. But learn all you can. Good luck and hang in there, it WILL get better.

Hi! Thank you for messaging me. It started about a month ago. It started with a couple of dizzy/nausea spells a week. I just took the meclizine for the first time and let me just say how freaking scared i am. I hate taking medicine because of the n* and v* side effects. i just keep trying to tell myself that it helps with dizziness. i was laying on the couch and the n* just hit me like a wave, so i just took the medicine. I'm going to call an ent tomorrow. I had a cold in may...I don't know if mine is viral though because it took a month to feel the symptoms. i can't breathe right now. it's really only been this bad for about a week. i am just scared that my doctor misdiagnosed me. i went there today and two days ago and he's insisting that it's viral. he doesn't want to give me prednisone because that causes stomach issues and i struggle with GERD. i'm really really scared that this meclizine is going to make me sick. how long does it take for it to get into your system? i feel so pathetic and sad right now.

[olschesky]

I also have labrynthitis...had it since the 1980's. meclizine has an anti emetic in it so is helpful with the dizziness and the n. don't be afraid of it nasal spray really works much faster for me when I get the "dizzies". get lots of rest and try not to get too frustrated or depressed....it took me quite a while to get over my first "bout" with it.......but it will go away and if/when it does come back it probably won't be so severe. I have little bouts of it every now and then......but find that the meclizine and nasal spray usually do the trick within a few hours and i'm good to go. it is a horrible feeling.......but try not to get too anxious about it.....that doesn't help. I've never gotten sick during a dizzy time.....if that helps you....my first bout put me in the hospital for 3 days with a Dramamine iv.......I couldn't even stand up........but it does get better......rest, rest, rest

[andee]

My last bout happened almost 3 weeks after a cold and I thought that was weird too. And thankfully it wasn't as bad as the first (hated that it happened again though). Yes, meclizine is an anti-emetic and WILL NOT make you sick. The nausea can happen fast when you move or irritate things. So just rest, fluids, small snacks, try your hardest to stay calm. Olschesky and I have talked about this together before..I need to remember the nasal spray. Take care!

[bella2107]

I have vertigo & frequently get dizzy spells & instant nausea. Obviously HATE it since I have this phobia. Meclizine is an anti-emetic & anti-nausea that is commonly used to treat motion sickness & dizziness. I have to take one every morning to prevent dizziness & my sensitivity to motion. If anything it should help you more than hurt you. Sometimes I have to take 2 pills a day to tackle random dizzy spells. The worst thing that can happen is you may feel drowsy like Phenergan. IMO I'd rather be drowsy than nauseous. Hope you're doing better!